Cabot Energy's Rainbow area sidetrack well exceeds expectations

Cabot Energy, the AIM quoted oil and gas company focused on production led growth balanced with high impact exploration and appraisal opportunities, provides the provisional results from the drilling and flow test of the 10-32 sidetrack well in the Rainbow area in Canada, which was drilled in December 2017.

Drilling

- The 10-32 sidetrack kicked off from the original well bore at a depth of 1,244 metres and extended for an additional 988 metres in length.
- the true vertical depth of the well is 1,541 metres.
- Approximately 400 metres were drilled through the targeted reef with around 200 metres of the wellbore encountering high porosity reservoir.
-The well took longer to drill than planned to ensure the directional leg remained on the planned trajectory through the Muskeg overburden.

Flow test

- The well was swab tested over a total period of 38 hours and cleaned up throughout the test.
- During the final four hour flow period, the well was producing at an extrapolated daily rate of 408 barrels of fluid per day, of which 344 barrels was oil.
- The well is expected to produce dry oil once all the completion fluid has been recovered.

The 10-32 well is tied into the 13-36 facility and it is planned that it will be put on production with a pump later in January. The initial rate is expected to be approximately 200 barrels of oil per day to manage the longer term production potential of the reservoir. The work on the 14-22 recompletion well will now be undertaken as part of the winter work programme commencing in January. A full Company production and operational update, including 2018 guidance, will be provided later in January.

Keith Bush, Chief Executive Officer of Cabot Energy, commented:

"This is the Company's second sidetrack well and the results have again exceeded expectations. These higher production rates will further improve the robust economics of the project.

"The next phase of the development of the Rainbow and Virgo areas will focus on sidetrack wells from existing well bores, of which up to 10 are planned for this year. The valuable experience gained in the directional drilling phase of these two sidetrack wells will be applied to the benefit of the winter work programme due to start shortly."